A Long Year
by CozyCowboy
Summary: So, when Dumbledore makes the Heads of the school organize a Dueling Program, Lily begins to see that James may not be as much of a loser as she thought... but there is always some kind of complication... and she may not want him to have a second chance.
1. The First Chapter

Ha cha cha... Disclaimers as always... I do not own... Harry Potter... or anything affiliated with Harry Potter... So yeah.

Now then... it's been a while since I tried my and at writing, so here goes... cracks knuckles...

It's gonna start out slow I'm sure... I recall last time I tried this I got about 4 chapters in and my story was going nowhere... so bear with me, and mabe I can do better than last time I tried.

-yummy yummy pink lemonade! o.O;-

_Fire. So warm. So... beautiful._

James reached his hands out, running his fingers through the fire that danced before him. He smiled, almost in a trance like state, as he continued to feel the warm heat emitted from the intriguing flame. After a few moments of this, the flame danced once more as it slowly changed, no longer a flame but a flaming sea of soft strands of hair. James' eyes seemed to widen just a tad as his fingers ran through the locks, the hair skirting just a bit as the head turned.

_'James...' _A female voice spoke.

beep...

"James..." A rougher male voice intruded the dark room where he stood, seeming to whisper from no where.

Beep...

_'James.' _The female voice again. As the head finally turned he caught a glimpse of the emerald eyes that peered back into his.

BEep...

"James." Wait... was that...

BEEP!

"JAMES!"

Almost simultaneously, Sirius and the alarm clock next to James' bed shouted, stirring him with a start. In one fluid continuous motion, James rolled over and swung for the alarm clock. And missed horribly.

"Damnit Prongs... " Sirius started, padding over to the clock and slapping it quiet. James lay, chin rested against the floor where it had impacted from his less-than-graceful attempt of silencing the beast known as the alarm clock. His lower half still rested on the bed, his upper half on the floor.

"Ungh... damn alarms... " James grumbled, managing to right himself and stand, stretching his arms out over his head as he groaned, looking at a blurry Sirius.

"I don't see why you even bother with these damn things, when you know Moony could just wake us up when he left to go down to breakfast." Sirius stated.

"I like my sleep, I don't wanna get up at the ass crack of dawn like Remus does." James stated, sliding his glasses on his nose and pushing them up the bridge so he could see Sirius now. " Besides, we both know that we'd ignore Remus and be late every morning if it wasn't for the alarm."

Sirius simply shook his head and yanked a black tee over his head, kicking aside some random garments to find a pair of jeans that at least looked clean. James sat on the side of his bed, wedging his fingers between his eyes and glasses to attempt to rub the sleep from them.

After finding their clothing and robes, they headed to the Great Hall for breakfast, dragging their heels and yawning the whole way. Upon entering, they made their way to the table where two spots lay open for them as usual next to Remus and Peter. Of course, this trip entailed many winks and grins to the women whom they passed on the way.

Remus sat, reading over his copy of the Daily Prophet, while spooning cereal from the bowl before him into his mouth, seemingly entranced by the front page news. Peter merely sat, nibbling at a pop tart in a way that would make a rat proud. James and Sirius began methodically towering their food on their plates, as they'd always done since the first year. It was like chinese buffet to them, starting with a base layer of eggs, then piling potatoes, bacon, ham, sausages, a bit of toast, some salsa, and balancing a few muffins around the outer edge of the plate.

"How you two will ever manage to grow up and not become fat lazy old men I will never know." Remus spoke for the first time, still looking very much absorbed by the news now on the second page of the Prophet.

Sirius just seemed to grin widely as he chewed away at a mix of whatever he could stab with his fork. James on the other hand, offered an explanation to their above normal appetites.

"Well Moony, if you think of it like we do, y'know, we lead very, very active life styles. What, with spending all day being the charming, god-like women magnets we are, along with pranking people and hexing Slytherins, not to mention Quidditch practice... we need all the energy we can get." He grinned widely as Sirius had done, whilst Remus shot a sideways glance at him when he finished his explaination.

The rest of the meal was fairly quiet, Remus finishing reading his copy of the Prophet as James and Sirius finished their meals, while Peter merely sat quietly.

-and so...-

Lily and her two friends Brenna and Alice sat at the table in the Great Hall. Lily and Brenna were engaged in a meaningful conversation about a new Dueling program Dumbledore had wanted the Heads to organize, while Alice sat with her head laying on her folded arms. She never was one to be a morning person.

"I can't believe he wants me to plan this all out on my own." Lily groaned unexcitedly.

"Aww Lils, it's supposed to be you and Potter doing this." Brenna stated with a bit of twinkle in her eyes, and a touch of singsong in her voice when she mentioned James.

"Brenna, you know better than that. Potter wont help me with a damn thing." Lily sighed.

"Maybe if you'd ask him ever-so-nicely, he might." Brenna retorted.

"Me, be nice to Potter? HAH!" She exclaimed a little overzealously, causing a few heads to turn. Ignoring that, she continued. "Potter deserves only the most spiteful of words from me, after what he did to me last year." She remembered the prank all to well, as it quickly replayed in her mind.

--Dang ol'... Flashback Man--

_Lily made her way through the corridor with Brenna and Alice, heading for Potions. Little did she know, she was walking into a trap. Allthough it wasn't meant for her, she was the one who got caught in it._

_In a flash, before she could even figure out what was going on, she was hanging upside down over a bucket of water that had appeared out of no where. With a few small 'pops', hairbrushes began to not-so-softly brush at her hair, emitting their own shampoo from the bristles. Every few seconds, she was dunked headfirst into the bucket, then the scrubbing commensed. _

_The Marauders themselves were laughing too hard to have stopped it if they wanted to. Brenna and Alice stood, awestruck, not knowing what to do. If it hadn't been for Snape, there was no telling how long this would have went on for. _

_Snape quickly reversed the magic that held the prank together, leaving Lily sprawled out on the floor with soaked hair and robes, as he looked at the Marauders with his wand drawn._

_'Flipendo!' Snape shouted, wand pointed at James. James was knocked back a bit, causing him to slide across the floor on landing. Before Sirius or Remus could draw their wands however..._

_'Locomotor Mortis!'_

_Snape's legs snapped together, causing him to topple over. Everyone looked around to find the source, spotting a sitting Lily with her wand pointed. _

_'I don't need your help Snape, you made it apparent what you thought of me!' Lily shouted, standing slowly with her wand still pointed at him. _

_'Hey Mudblood! Watch yourself!' A Slytherin 7th year shouted, causing her attention to turn for a moment. In that moment, Snape pointed a jinx at her._

_'Densaugeo!' Snape shouted, the jinx hitting Lily directly in the face. Almost instantly, her front teeth began to grow. _

_'Stupify!' This time it was James who yelled, hitting Snape with the jinx. Lily stood, almost in tears as he turned to look at James._

_'I don't need your damn help either you worthless prat! Furnunculus!' She shot, hitting James dead on with the jinx as well. Immediately, his face began sporting boils the size of quarters. Not that she had time to enjoy it, as he turned and ran quickly for the Girl's Dormitory in the Gryffindor tower, tears streaming steadily down her face._

_­_--Wow... back to real time...--

"Ah Lils, how long are you gonna hate him for that, he wasn't trying to get you." Brenna said, trying to hold back a smile from remembering that memory.

"Until the day I die... that's how long." She shifted her eyes, catching a glimpse of James a few chairs down, glaring hatefully. He felt the eyes on him, and shifted his attention, smirking a bit and offering a little wave to her.

_'That git and his cute little smile and wave... wait... WHAT!? James Potter, cute smile? I need to go get my head checked out. Stupid prat.' _She huffed loudly and got up, turning on a heel and walking off quickly to her first class of the day, Brenna dragging Alice close behind.

Yeah well, kinda short, but that's cause this chair sucks and my ass hurts from sitting in it... so yeah. Tell me what ya'll think, and uh, I'll probably start on the next chapter in about... 22 minutes, cause I'll be bored again by then. Peace...

Cozy


	2. The Second Chapter

Well... so much for the 22 minutes... it's been a while. I don't own this stuff I write about... wish I did... but I don't.

Anyways... I noticed a mistake... seeing as how James and Lily are both Head students... and James was sleeping in the regular dorms... so... for the sake of laziness... I'm gonna keep it that way for a bit, cook up a story about why he is and eventually move the two into the Head's dorm. So yeah...

--On with the show--

So, later on that day... James sat boredly in the common room, lounged sideways across a squishy chair, head tilted back on the arm as he stared at the ceiling above. Sighing somewhat he groaned, shifting his eyes at a bit of movement at his left. It was none other than Lily, approaching him. He put on his trademark grin, watching her for a moment before she spoke.

"Potter... we need to organize this project that Dumbledore gave us." All business, all the time James thought to himself. He groaned again, righting himself in the chair so he sat in it the way it was intended to be sat in.

"Ok... so... that means what?" He asked.

"It means we need to sit down and get this thing planned out." She snipped back at him, a hint of anger on her face.

"So... when and where?" He looked at her, his thoughts slowly drifting from the conversation to the stray locks of fiery hair that escaped the hair band that contained her ponytail. He didn't hear the words she spoke as he watched her mouth move. Slowly, he lifted his gaze to her eyes, those sparkling emerald eyes. That was when he heard her finally.

"POTTER! Have you been listening?" She inquired, a little angrily.

"What? Yeah." He lied. She growled.

"Tommorow Potter, in the Library. Seven. Be there. On time. Got it?" She demanded.

"Yeah yeah... it's a date." He said offhandedly.

"It's not a date Potter." She glared.

"Whatever you say dear." He smirked.

"Good GOD you are so annoying. Just, be there Potter." She turned and walked away, striding quickly with the anger he'd arisen in her.

James sighed as he let his head fall back against the back cushion of the chair, looking at the ceiling once more. Sirius came into his view as he walked up to the back of the chair, looking down at James.

"So Prongs... I'm bored. Let's go down to the kitchens and grab a bite ey?" He smiled at the idea.

"Go get Moony and we'll go." Peter had landed himself in the Hospital Wing due to a accident in Herbology involving a particularly nasty plant that emitted a highly acidic substance.

James stood, as Remus and Sirius came, and the three embarked on their way to the Kitchens.

--Kinda... dull at the moment, ain't it?--

So the next day, seven approached. James found himself slowly making his way down to the Library, shuffling his feet slowly. A few moments later he entered, noting his was 3 minutes late. He spotted Lily and took a seat next to her, where she say, quickly scribbling things on the parchment in front of her, speaking without ever raising her eyes once.

"You're late Potter." She stated.

"Sorry..." He muttered, sounding remotely apologetic.

"Whatever, just... let's get this over with." She sighed, setting her quill down and looking over at him. He had leaned his chair back, balancing it on the hind legs as he sat now with his feet up on the table, crossed at the ankle with his hands behind his head, staring at the wall across from him.

"We need a date and time for this Potter, not to mention a signup sheet, as well as rules and requirements. Also, we'll need a place for it to take place, along with a few supervisory figures and so on." She spoke quickly, writing all this down, pausing only to dip her quill in ink, all business he noted.

"Saturday. Two to Five. Quidditch Pitch, signups will be from now until Friday at curfew, no one under fourth year. As far as supervisors, besides the two of us, I'd say Remus and Sirius would be glad to volunteer. " James smirked somewhat, looking over to her as he shifted her eyes to the side, watching him as he spoke. Was James Potter actually taking this serious?

The moment of shock was short lived as she turned back to the parchment and scribbled all of that down.

"Very well, all except for Sirius supervising. I'll agree to Remus, but I think Brenna would make a better supervisor than Sirius. " She stated, quickly writing down things.

"Very well. As far as rules go... I'd say anything that's not unforgivable or physically harmful in the sense of cuts, gashes, and intentional broken bones is acceptable. Keep it as close to real as possible."

She simply nodded as she took the notes down. James slowly lowered his chair, producing a quill and stealing a sheet of her parchment, tidily and very ornately scribing _Dueling Program Sign Up_ at the top, with an ornate series of loopy underlines beneath it. Stealing another sheet, he wrote in tidy ornate script as well, the rules and regulation to the club. He slid them back to her, hiding the quill back in his inner pocket of his cloak.

She looked amazedly for a moment at the beauty he'd produced in such a short amount of time, quickly wiping any tell-tale signs of it from her face however. She wouldn't acknowledge her awe of something produced by James Potter, no matter what it was.

"That seems to take care of it. I'll post these outside the Great Hall doors in the morning on the way to lunch. " She stated, quickly standing up. James stood beside her, nodding somewhat.

"Thank you for your time Potter." She said, extending a hand for a shake. James however, had other plans. Taking her hand in his, he used it to tug her closer, wrapping his free arm around her waist as he looking into her sparkling emerald eyes.

"You're beautiful Lily." He stated, before lowering his head to hers, brushing his lips lightly over hers. For a split second she stood, frozen. And then...

_**CRACK!**_

James stood, head turned to the side, one eye closed in a wince, his arms having dropped to his sides as she stepped back from him. A red handprint began to glow on his cheek, as she stormed by him, leaving him standing there.

--Ouch... bet that hurt--

Weeeelll, that's chapter 2 folks. Hope ya enjoy it. If not... well... yeah. Review, or not. I noticed the hits and amount of reviews are offset about... 60 to 1... so... I guess if I get 600 people to read it, I might get 10 reviews. But yeah... whatever. As long as I enjoy writing it, what does it matter?

-Cozy-


	3. The Third Chapter

Woo... up to 4 reviews. Sweet. In response to shetlandlace's question... I dunno if it's canon or not. But... it'd make for an interesting story when I expain why they're not in the Heads dorm.

Thanks to shetlandlace and An Aspiring Author... and some anonymous person for the reviews. Makes me actually wanna write this next chapter, instead of putting it off for a week and a half. But, before I begin... I think I'm gonna change into some shorts. Wranglers tend to get uncomfortable... hence the name 'cozy**cowboy**'...

Anyways... moving on... just noticed it's snowing... in... May... while back home in Texas it's... 90 degrees.

--Grizzly and a Coke, while its dang ol' snowin' outside man...I hate Wyoming--

James quietly, slowly, and thoughtfully made his way back to the tower. His face still stung from the ever ferocious Lily Evans and her devil of a hand. Grumbling somewhat, he went over the occurance in his head repeatedly, trying to find out why the hell she'd reacted like that.

"Open Sesame..." James muttered as he reached the Fat Lady, allowing room for her to swing forward and allow him access to the common room. (A/N:Cliche aren't I...) Still in a world of his own he plopped down in a chair in front of the fire and sighed. It wasn't long until Remus, Sirius, and a recovered Peter made their way over to occupy the other furniture that also sat before the fire.

"What's up Prongs mate?" Sirius asked, taking up a whole couch to himself as he lazily strew himself from one end to the other.

"I dunno Padfoot... sometimes I wonder why Lily wont give me even an inkling of a chance. I mean, it's bad enough being in the same house as her, and the same classes and all... but damnit, I had to go and make Head bloody Boy too. I wonder if I could give up my spot." James thought with a hint of hope edging his voice.

"James... I'm sure Dumbledore wouldn't let you resign from the Head duties, and I'm sure he put you there for a reason. " Remus stated, using James' real name to emphasize his seriousness.

"Ah, don't listen to Moony. If you want out Prongs, just, go tell Dumbledore you want out. He can't really make you stay Head Boy can he, not if it's not what you want. " Sirius reasoned, sounding like he knew what he was talking to, even if he didn't. That was Sirius' talent... he could convince a buddhist monk to buy contraceptives if he wanted to.

"I dunno. I think I'm gonna sleep on it boys." With that, James stood and slowly wandered up the stairs to his dorm, quickly making use of his four poster as he drifted into sleep.

"Well, I think I'll follow suit. Comin' Moony? Wormtail?" Sirius stood, stretching his arms over his head.

"I'll be up in a bit Padfoot." Remus stated... watching the fire as he spoke. Wormtail simply followed Sirius up the stairs to the dorm.

--Moments later... like... an hour or two or something--

Remus looked up from the book he had begun to read, hearing the portrait swing open. Lily entered, alone, from her patrol duties that James had so lovely skipped out on. She looked furious, as she approached an overly calm looking Remus.

"Where's that bloody git at Remus?" She spoke, voice low and quiet, but none the less, full of malice.

"He's in bed Lily... where he has been for the better part of two hours.' Remus stated, slowly closing the book and setting it on an end table beside the chair he was in.

"Bed, is he sick?" She asked, annoyance still skirting the edge of her voice.

"Not that I could tell, just in thought." Remus replied.

" 'In thought' huh? Well what the hell does that have to do with him skipping out and leaving me to patrol alone?" Lily asked, the annoyance more obvious this time around.

"I'm not here to make excuses for him Lily. But I would like to talk to you about him." Remus stated, shifting his eyes up to meet hers as he sat, elbows rested on the arm rests, fingers interlocked in front of his face.

Lily quietly took a seat across from him, drawing her feet up in the chair after slipping her shoes off her feet. Patrolling, classes, and other random bouts of activity had taken their toll on her, and her feet, so she took the chance to relax.

"Lily... what happened earlier? James left from here, just like the James we all know. But when he came back from meeting with you, he seemed very withdrawn."

"He... he kissed me." She said, looking at the arm rest to her right, finding the picking of the fabric to be mildly entertaining as she really didn't want to be having the conversation.

"And?"

"And what? I slapped him. He has no right to just walk up and think he can kiss whoever he wants! Me -least- of all." She emphasized the -least- part.

"Well that would explain it then." Remus sighed, standing up.

"Explain what Remus?" Lily questioned, with a quirked eyebrow.

"Why he wants to stop being Head Boy." Remus shook his head, holding up his hand as she went to speak. "That's all I can tell you. If he wants you to understand... he'll tell you himself. I'll be sure to let him know how... proper it would be to inform you of his decision to step down or not, as well as give an explaination as to why."

Lily just sat... watching as Remus walked away. She didn't quite get it. James wanted to quit being Head Boy, and apparently it had something to do with her, but she didn't understand what. Could James really dislike her that much? Was he finally tired of making her life hell, and just decided she wasn't even worth the time?

She pondered shortly, before heading off to bed... with a weighing sensation on her emotions.

--Sometimes, I think my stories are very... spontaneous...--

The next morning, James awoke before the others. Slowly, he got dressed, not bothering too much with stealthliness. He simplygot dressed, and when a slightly muffled curse, followed by 'Whatreyadoinup-n-wheryaofftoo' sounded from the four poster next to his, he simpy stated...

"Heading to breakfast early... can't sleep... " And left.

Being one of the first to arrive, aside from a few Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws, and a couple of Slytherins, James had time to approach the table that sat at the head of the room, seating only a few teachers at the moment.

"Professor..." James spoke quietly, looking at Dumbledore as he awaited the older man's attention.

"Yes Mr. Potter?" He spoke kindly, a small grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye.

"Could I, perhaps speak with you after breakfast about something sir?" James asked, rocking on his heels as he stood with his hands in his pockets.

"That would be fine Mr. Potter. Meet me in my office 10 minutes after breakfast ends and we shall talk. I shall inform Professor Slughorn that you'll be absent for the first bit of class." Dumbledore stated.

James simply nodded, then headed over to the Gryffindor table to sit and slowly begin to pick at a plate of eggs he'd scooped for himself... occasionally bringing a bite to his mouth.

A solid 25 minutes later, the rest of the Marauders filed in, the hall being filled with most of the students now as breakfast had officially started. James sat quietly throughout breakfast, not hardly speaking as Remus sat across from him, reading the Daily Prophet. Thankfully, Sirius was occupied with his morning intake of food, and Peter never really was one to strike conversation.

--Hmm, so we jump ahead to ten minutes after breakfast...--

James stood outside the gateway to Professor Dumbledore's office. He didn't know the password. So he stood, staring at the statue for a moment.

"Ah, Mr. Potter. So nice to see you prompt and on time." The old man's voice pronounced from beside him where he now stood, hands behind his back as he looked down to James at his side.

"Lemon Drops, Mr. Potter... Lemon Drops." He stated, eyes twinkling some as the Gargoyle stepped aside to allow access. Dumbledore offered his hand towards the staircase, signaling for James to enter first.

James nodded somewhat, entering as Dumbledore followed. Quietly they made their way up the steps, into Dumbledore's foyeur, and on into his office. Once seated, Dumbledore pressed his fingertips together and looked at James.

"So, what brings this occasion Mr. Potter?" He asked kindly.

"I... wanted to see if it were possible... if I could somehow... pass my Head Boy status onto someone else. Perhaps Remus Lupin if possible Professor. I just... I don't see why I was chosen and I think he would be better suited to-" And that was where Dumbledore raised a hand, signaling James to stop.

"Mr. Potter... while I daresay this is a possibility... I'd have to ask you to reconsider on two seperate grounds. The first being, that I believe you and Miss Evans have begun to plan the Dueling Program I inquired about, and I believe that that should be seen through at least until after the first get together. The second, Mr. Potter, would be on the grounds that I did in fact choose you for Head Boy, for reasons deemed most important to myself and the Deputy Headmistress as well, regardless of her initial objection." He spoke, with that same hint of grin, as well as the signature sparkle in his eye.

"Now, Mr. Potter... you are a leader, as you have so aptly proven since your first prank pulled with your group of friends Mr. Lupin, Black and Pettigrew. It's be seven long years you've led them, though I know none of you wish to see any of the others as higher in the status ranking. However Mr. Potter, I do also know, that without you at the head of the 'Marauders'... I daresay it would not quite be the same. Also..." Dumbledore paused, to lean back in his chair somewhat, letting his hands come to rest on the arms of the squishy office style chair.

"... you've proven your leadership capabilities as a model student and excellent Quidditch Captain on the field. With above average marks in almost all classes, and Gryffindors House Cup win last year, I believe you will find my reasoning to have sufficient backing."

"Now, while I highly disagree with your sudden inclination to resign your post as Head Boy, I will have to ask that you reconsider until after the first Dueling Program, and the upcoming Quidditch game against Ravenclaw, before you approach me with a final decision. Now, if that is all Mr. Potter, I believe Professor Slughorn to be expecting you any time now, as he intended on having the class brew a particularly advanced potion that would benifit any aspiring Auror to have knowledge of. " His eyes twinkled once more, as James merely sat for a moment, before nodding. With that he got up and headed towards the door.

"Mr. Potter... you were sorted into your particular house here at Hogwarts based on the credentials set forth by Godric Gryffindor himself... those being least of all bravery, as well as honesty and leadership abilities. I dare to venture that you would find your request at resignation to be very unbecoming of a Gryffindor, to say the least." He smiled somewhat, before nodding once.

James merely nodded once more, before exiting the office to head to his Potions class.

--Yahargh...--

There she be. Thought I'd throw in some Dumbledore insight... I enjoy writing from the point of view of a highly intellectual character. Gives me a chance to use some... less common vocabulary.

Review and whatnot. Peace.

--Cozy--


	4. The Fourth Chapter

I know I know... been a couple of days and all. It has kinda been raining here today, and it put me in the mood to write. / Okay, a while later, I decided that... hey... today's been shitty... girlfriend left me... and I've had a few to drink... so, why not huh? Let's see what happens... Sorry for the long delay...

--Milk and Oreos...--

James spent his walk to the dungeons thinking about what Dumbledore had said. In a sense he was right, and James' choice to try and resign from the duty was a bit cowardly. But he wasn't really resigning because of the work, he was doing it because of Lily. So... technically he was giving up on Lily, and in doing so relinquishing his Head Boy status in order to be away from her.

Yeah... that made more sense... except that Dumbledore's words stuck in his head... 'unbecoming of a Gryffindor'... was because James was backing out of his Head Boy position. So, in the same sense, wasn't it the same because he was giving up as far as Lily was concerned? So in turn, wasn't the outcome really all the same in the end? Hmmm.

"Damn... now what?" James spoke aloud, as he shuffled his feet down to the dungeons. His voice echoed off the walls as he rounded the last turn before the doorway into the dungeons. He sighed somewhat, as he stood for a moment outside, then decided to enter, pushing the door aside.

He looked at Slughorn, who simply paused from writing on the board to look at him and nod, before returning to writing what he was, lecturing all the while. James took his seat next to Sirius, behind Remus and Peter. He looked over and caught Lily focused on him for a brief moment, before she turned back to her notes.

James merely sat, cheek in hand, elbow supporting his head as he watched Slughorn lecture. Sirius boredly balanced his chair on it's hind legs as Remus took notes and Peter... well, Peter was kinda, doodling on a piece of parchment. But, that was a Peter thing.

When the bell rang, James slowly stuffed his stuff into his bag, and slowly shuffled out behind the other three Marauders. Slowly, he made his way out to the grounds for Care of Magical Creatures. Luckily, Lily wasn't in the class with him, so he had time to talk to the other three about what he should do.

"I don't know what to do guys. I'm... stuck. I can't bail out of this 'cause I'm scared. I'm not a coward." James whispered as the other three listened, Remus taking care of their magical creature as he did.

"Then don't." Remus stated vaguely.

"How am I supposed to deal with Lily though. She doesn't want me around, she doesn't wanna give me a chance. All I'm doing it making her mad and uncomfortable." James sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Just... quit being James the Marauder around her... or Obsessed-With-Lily James. Be... James. The James we all know." Remus spoke again, while Sirius picked at his teeth with a toothpick.

"I dunno... I guess we'll see what happens."

--You've Gotta Belong To It--

Patrol came that night, and James wearily made his way to their meeting place at the Great Hall entrance. He arrived a few minutes early, much to her suprise. He spoke quietly.

"Hey..." He said cautiously, averting his eyes somewhere besides her.

"Hi..." She stated almost as cautiously, wondering why he was acting so weird. Deciding to ignore it, she started down the hall, him following a few steps behind. His eyes stayed locked to the ground as he walked. He didn't say anything, and neither did she as they made their way to the shifting staircases. He didn't even notice when he stepped onto the wrong one, and they were split up.

She noticed however, and sighed loudly as she placed a hand to her forehead.

"POTTER!!" She yelled across the stairwell. He snapped out of it right about the time the staircase finished shifting, noticing he was now all the way across the room from her.

"What're you thinking? We're supposed to be going this way?" She stated, placing her fists on her hips as she scowled at him.

"Sorry." He said quietly as he pulled a hand through his hair, going up a few more steps and getting on a different staircase that shifted over the one she was on. Easily he slid his legs over the edge of the railing and dropped down to the one she stoon on, landing at the top. As soon as he left the higher one for the fall, she'd let out a small gasp.

Rushing up to where he stood, she pressed her finger into his breastbone, drilling it into him as she spoke.

"Just what the HELL are you thinking jumping off of there? You coulda been hurt!" She said, looking up at him with her eyebrows furrowed into an angry stare. He simply turned and walked down the hall they were headed for, muttering "It's not like you care anyways..." as he walked.

She was floored by that. She stood still with wide eyes as he slowly walked away from her.

"Wh-what?" She asked, struggling to get the word out.

"Nothing Evans... let's get this over with." He said, not stopping or turning or anything to look at her. Quietly she made her way after him, catching up and walking by his side, staring at the floor this time while he looked around to make sure no one was out.

"Ja-Potter..." She said hesitantly.

He turned the corner as he muttered "What?".

"Remus said you were thinking about quitting your Head Boy position... and it had something to do with me..." She said quietly as they walked.

"Well I'm not... sorry to dissapoint you." He said nonchalantly as he just kept walking, not bothering to dwell on it.

"It's not that Potter. Just... why? Can you really not stand me that much? Are you finally tired of tormenting and embarrassing me? What?" She asked, her voice rising, and for some reason unbeknowst to her, cracking.

That stopped him. He turned and looked at her, with a look of unbelief and 'are-you-stupid' mixed together.

"Lily... I just thought you might want to enjoy your last year here without having to be around me so much... seeing as how I... torment and embarass you as you put it." He shook his head, starting to walk again.

"Oh..." She said quietly, followed by... "I just thought you might have got tired of making my life hell and decided to find someone else." She said, a little bitterly. She sighed as she realized that her words came hard and her eyes watered because she never thought someone could dislike her so much, especially someone she'd never done anything to.

His sigh was highly audiable as he stopped again. Groaning in frustration he ran a hand down his face, turning to look at her.

"Y'know... I wont even waste my time trying to explain it to you Lily. I wasn't trying to make your life hell, but now that I see that's how you feel... then screw it. I'll just... go away. You wont see me unless it has to do with Head stuff." He grumbled and walked off, leaving her standing for a moment before she took a step to catch up to him. But by the time she rounded the corner he had, he was gone.

"Damnit James... " She sighed, heading towards the common room herself.

--Who knows...--

When James arrived in the dorms, Sirius headed out to the common room right after. He was hoping to catch Lily. Sure enough, as soon as he hit the bottom of the steps, a very winded looking Lily entered.

"Where's James?" She asked, trying to catch her breath.

"Upstairs, in bed." He stated eyeing her suspiciously.

"Damnit." She looked at the floor as she cursed.

"Hey uh... Lily... I know me and you aren't really... on... good terms and whatnot... but, could you do me a favor." Sirius asked kinda sheepishly, looking very un-Sirius.

"What?" She said, eyeing him suspiciously.

"Could you uh... give this letter to Brenna?" He held it out to her, his other hand scratching the back of his neck.

"No... Sirius. I wont. Cause I don't want her to get hurt. And I know that's what that letter is about. Trying to woo her and reel her in. And I wont be part of it." She said, huffing and turning on her heel. Heading up to her dorm, she left a very shocked Sirius standing there.

--Fin--

Yeah... very un-Sirius. And un-Lily... but I... don't care. And if it bothers you... then... don't read it. Wouldn't be the first time. See ya.


	5. The Fifth Chapter

Yes yes... it's been some time. Not quite as much as it was the last time... but still. Annnnywho... this chapter ought to be laden with something... though I'm not sure what. BUT, up until this point, I'd like to thank my Reviewers...

PottersLittleSister -- Yes... I was quite proud of my... "cute" Sirius. Sure... he might have been a little bit of a sauve gentleman(or man-whore, in layman terms), but what if he wasn't? That's what I like... the... what if he wasn't stuff. And I plan on having more of the Dumbledore in here as well.

As for the rest of you buggers... I just wanna say thanks... to shetlandlace, xshrimpyx, leoshunny1985, the two anonymous people... and An Aspiring Author. You 7, are the best.

--On with the SHOW!!--

So the next morning... the Marauders sat at the table for breakfast, and oddly, it seemed as though James and Sirius had switched roles. Sirius sat, staring hard at his eggs while prodding them with his silver fork, and James sat, leisurely resting his elbows on the table as he snacked a piece of bacon, grinning all the while at passing girls. Remus sat, arms suspended in mid air, the light glinting off his gold silverware(silver's bad for werewolves...?), looking between the two. And Peter... well Peter was jus' chillin'... eatin' breakfast like a normal person.

"What's going on?" Remus asked, looking between the two still frozen with his hands up.

"What?" James and Sirius asked simultaneously. They eyed Remus for a minute, then looked at one another, then back to Remus, before shrugging and returning to what they were doing before.

"I mean, why is Prongs flirting with ever girl that passes, and Padfoot is sulking and playing with his food instead of eating it, like we've all come to expect?" Remus stated, slicing a piece of french toast off.

"Dunno what you mean Moony. I feel fine." James smiled.

"Yeah... fine." Sirius copied, only halfway paying attention.

"Prongs, no offence, but usually you sit and mope about your... unfortunate alignment of the cosmos and position of Jupiter in relation to Uranus, I believe is what you called it three years ago, at the breakfast table. " Remus took another bite of his french toast.

"Well... maybe they just aligned right today... " He grinned, knowing full well that his 'explaination' as to why he was so unlucky with Lily Evans was so ridiculous.

"And you Padfoot? What has your knickers all twisty?" Remus smirked, sliding his plate back from him, the french toast now gone as he reached for a piece of ham.

"Nothing Moony, just... woke up on the wrong side of the bed is all." Sirius stated, offering a weak grin. Too bad Lily chose this moment to wedge her way in between Peter and Remus, offering a quick 'hi guys' to the two before looking at James.

"Potter. Potter. Potttttteeeeeerrrrr. POTTER!! Merlin will you pay attention for two seconds?!" Lily shouted at him across the table.

He looked down from some blonde sixth year passing by to Lily, and smirked his trademark Potter smirk.

"Yes Evans, what can I do for you?" James inquired with a poisonous grin.

"Back to Evans is it? Fine then. I came to say... " She struggled some, looking at him, moving her hands foolishly as she tried to make herself say it... "I mean... I wanna tell you... I... oh shit." She growled low, dropping her hands in frustration and letting out a loud sigh.

"James, I'm sorry for last night, and saying all those things about you ruining my life and stuff. I didn't-don't, don't think you've ruined my life, just... I dunno, you didn't deserve to be treated like I treated you last night." She looked down at the table. Remus stared sideways at her, in somewhat of a shocked state. James looked across the table at her, mouth open just a bit as he looked for words to say. Sirius raised a brow as he prodded his now cold eggs still. It was a moment, and definately a long and akward silence before James spoke.

"Very well Evans. Now then... I'm headed to the pitch, because we have the period off this morning. You comin' Padfoot?" James looked at Sirius as he stood.

"Yeah... I'm comin'. " Sirius pushed his plate back and sighed, standing up to follow James. A few steps, he turned and looked at Lily. " Have you changed your mind about what I asked you last night?" His eyes showed a weary pleading in them, which she chose to ignore.

"No Black, I'm not helping you exploit an innocent female with your suave and smooth talking ways." She stated with a fire of irritation.

"Fine..." He growled, turning and following James to the pitch. James wanted to ask, but thought it better to wait.

--Out on the piiiiiitch... James and Sirius...--

After a good amount of time spent tossing the quaffle about throwing it farther and father out front, above, below and behind one another to hone the reflexs and speed, James slowly hovered up next to Sirius on his broom, spinning the quaffle idly between his hands.

"So Padfoot... what was that with Evan's this morning?" James asked cautiously.

"Nothing Prongs... don't worry about it." Sirius said, hovering around infront of Jamesa bit away so they could just toss the quaffle back and forth, like playing catch.

"Oh... right." James said, staying silent for a bit as they tossed the quaffle back and forth.

"Do you think I'm capable of a relationship James?" Sirius blurted out after a while of silence.

"What? Sirius Black, the guy who takes pleasure in trying to see how many girls he can get to swoon over him, wanting to settle down?" James snickered some, looking at him.

"No no no! That's not what I'm sayin'... just askin'... if you think I could... " Sirius said, avoiding eye contact with James.

"Padfoot, mate, I don't see why not. If you think you can do it, then you can." James stated. "Now why don't you tell me exactly what's going on, 'cause I know this was brought on by something. Who is she?" James asked, rolling the quaffle from his fingertips to his shoulder, across then back down the other arm before flicking his wrist to pop the ball up into the air, lazily arching it to Sirius.

"No one... just... don't worry about it Prongs."

"Oh come on Sirius... I know better. It has something to do with what you asked Evans earlier, so what is it?" James said, looking accusingly at him.

"Evans huh? Since when was it Evans and not Lily?" Sirius asked.

"Don't change the subject Sirius."

"Fine... it's... Brenna..." Sirius muttered, hoping James wouldn't hear it.

"Brenna Warren?!" James exclaimed.

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Damnit James, I don't know! She's just... there's something about her. The way she is, the way she acts, how she is towards others. She's kind, compassionate, beautiful... I guess after this long of being 'Sirius the Marauder'... I just something think she's the kind of person I wish I could be James. " He said, fidgiting as he passed the quaffle from one hand to the other.

"Hmmmmmmmm..." James rubbed his chin for a moment, then nodded somewhat. "Allright Sirius... so what's the deal, why not just go talk to her?"

"She's not gonna listen to me James. She'd blow me off as just wanting her to get her in the sack."

"So that's why you're trying to get Evans to help then." James caught the quaffle, spinning it on a fingertip.

"Again with the Evans... what happened between the two of you?"

"I guess... I just realized what she really thought about me... and I shouldn't waste my time trying anymore." James sighed heavily, then shook his head.

"Oh come on Prongs. Don't bullshit me. You still want her just as much as you ever did."

"Even so... why chase something uncatchable?"

"You just told me to go after Brenna, and you're gonna sit there and tell me you're quitting?" Sirius pointed an accusing finger. " You're not the James Potter I grew up with if that's what you're planning."

"Just leave it alone Sirius." James eyed him with a warning in his eyes.

"Fine... just... don't tell Moony or Wormtail about what we talked about today.

"Agreed."

--Fin--

I guess that'll be all for now. Review, or whatever. I know out of the 414 hits I have on this that... 8 reviews is pathetic. So... y'know. Reviewing is good. Tells me what I should do if you don't like it, or what I should keep doing if you do like it.

Anyways, got laundry to go do. Adios.

--cozy--


End file.
